Estee Lauder financial chief to retire

The company said that Kunes will continue to serve as CFO until June 30, 2012, unless his successor is named before then. He’ll stay on as senior adviser to the CEO and work on special projects until June 30, 2013.

The company said it will look both inside and outside the company for the new CFO. It didn’t give a reason for Kunes’ planned departure.

Kunes joined the company in 1986 as controller of international manufacturing, and was named CFO in 2000.

CEO Fabrizio Freda, who joined the company about three years ago, said Kunes has been “a valued partner to me.”

“Together, we have managed through a very difficult period and one which included some of the best performances in the company’s history,” Freda said in a statement. “I regret to see him retire, but he has put together an excellent team.”

The New York company, which makes Clinique, Bobbi Brown and MAC cosmetics, reported higher net income and revenue in the most recent quarter, helped partly by strong sales at emerging markets. But Estee Lauder issued muted expectations for the coming year, and shares have fallen as investors worry that the volatile stock market will keep high-end customers from spending.